THE ANNELIDA. 263 
in its shell. Cuvier remarked that the naked annelids had 
respiratory organs upon the centre of their bodies; those with a 
solid covering possess the same organs upon their heads or tails. 
The first class he termed Dorstbranchiata, the other Tzbicola. The 
bodies of these animals are more or less cylindrical, and often 
flattened; towards both extremities they decrease; like earth- 
worms, they can contract and extend at will. They are remark- 
able for the number of their eyes, some having as many as 
sixty. Ehrenberg describes a curious species provided with two 
eyes upon its head, and two upon its tail. Another, a veritable 
little Argus, has several upon its head, two upon every ring, and 
its tail is furnished with four. Many annelids have two or more 
rows of tufts of bristles, running the whole length of their body ; 
others are surrounded by thousands of small filaments, which serve 
for hands, or feet, or fins, according to the creature’s necessity. 
The Cirratulide have \ong, capillary appendages covering their 
bodies, which stretch out on every side; they are at once arms 
and branchial organs; and the blood, which fills and leaves them 
alternately, tints them a beautiful red, leaving them an amber 
yellow. They elongate their pointed heads, with eyes like the 
lamps of a locomotive, as they recoil from the light which bursts 
upon them. Now they form a knot far more inextricable than 
the Gordian knot which Alexander cut. But this is a living 
cable; the folds glide one under the other, ceaselessly tying and 
untying themselves, throwing from every point bright reflections 
from their sparkling bodies. The annelids are timid animals, 
afraid of anything; yet still, strange to say, they live by rapine; 
they lie in ambuscade, and patiently wait till some imprudent 
creature passes near them ; immediately they surround it with their 
arms, or seize it with their horns. Others perforate the hardest 
shells, and devour the most secure mollusks. 
It is not to be expected that an animal which is an Ishmaelite 
of the sea should not have many enemies. Against their frequent 
attacks, Providence has amply furnished the annelids with defen- 
sive weapons. In the armoury of the race there is a far larger 
assortment of murderous implements than even the cruel genius of 
man has invented. Here are curved blades, some sharpened on 
the outer edge, like the yatagan of the Arab; others, like the 
